Germany hits back at US patent waiver proposal for Covid-19 vaccines May 7, 2021 Germany has rejected the Covid-19 vaccine patent proposal today, urging that production capacity is key to boosting vaccine output. The country’s health minister said the primary challenge to increasing production volumes of vaccines is quickly and effectively transferring technology. “The main issue is not patent protection but production capacity,” Jens Spahn, said at a news [...]
Under-40s in Britain to be offered alternative to Astrazeneca vaccine May 7, 2021 People under the age of 40 in Britain will be offered an alternative to the Astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine following concerns of rare blood clots. In a press conference this morning, the government’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that adults in the UK aged between 30 and 39 should seek an alternative vaccine. Professor [...]
Amid a slow rollout, 24m vaccines sit in freezers in Japan May 7, 2021 Unused Covid-19 vaccines are stacking up in the millions in Japan, as the country prepares to approve two more shots in the coming weeks amid a sluggish inoculation drive. Due to lack of manpower and logistical bottlenecks, Japan’s vaccine rollout has been slow, in a nation culturally sceptical of vaccines and layered with bureaucracy. Japan [...]
Regular rapid testing reassures that you aren’t spreading the virus without knowing May 7, 2021 | Sponsored As a country, we’ve certainly put the hard yards in to bring Covid-19 cases down. Lockdowns are tough on everybody, but it’s that discipline that’s meant we can slowly start getting back to the things we love. But to keep on top of Covid-19, we can’t just rely on the rollout of vaccines. One other [...]
NHS to deliver vaccines to low-uptake communities in a Ford van May 7, 2021 Ford and the NHS in Essex have joined forces with local health leaders to roll out a vaccine drive using a tailored Transit van to deliver jabs. Despite the UK’s successful vaccine rollout, vaccine uptake is lower among some communities facing access challenges, which the vaccine drive seeks to tackle. “Our goal of giving everyone [...]
Exclusive: Business group urges government to launch Covid bonds in ‘war-style’ recovery plan May 7, 2021 The government should issue Covid recovery bonds to finance the UK’s “war-style” post-pandemic recovery, according to family business organisation the Independent Business Network. The business group, which represents family owned or run firms across the country, said the government should abandon inflationary Quantitative Easing and introduce the bonds instead. In a letter to the Prime [...]
The recovery is in full swing: UK set for best growth since Second World War May 6, 2021 The economy will grow this year at its fastest pace since the Second World War as Britain stages a vaccine-fuelled recovery. Gross domestic product will rebound by 7.25 per cent in 2021, up from its previous prediction of 5 per cent and the best year of growth since 1941, according to the Bank of England [...]
Tui offers £20 Covid tests for British holidaymakers May 6, 2021 Tui will offer British holidaymakers cut-price Covid tests following the government’s announcement earlier this week that vaccine passports would not be ready in time for the resumption of international travel. The British airline said it would slash the cost of mandatory PCR tests for travellers returning to the UK to £20 under new plans to [...]
UK could be left behind rest of Europe on travel, Easyjet boss warns May 6, 2021 The boss of Easyjet has warned that the UK could be left behind the rest of Europe if the government approves travel to only a small handful of countries from 17 May. Tomorrow ministers will lay out the initial list of destinations that will be on the UK’s green list for travel from the middle [...]
Switch-ed on: Nintendo operating profits soar 82 per cent May 6, 2021 Nintendo has forecast its Switch console sales to hit 25.5m units in the financial year that started 1 April, after global lockdown measures spurred a gaming frenzy. The Japanese gaming company sold 28.8m Switch consoles in the year ending 31 March, exceeding Nintendo’s February expectations of 26.5m. The Kyoto-based firm was on the receiving end [...]